Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Start the weekend early tonight with Criminoso @ Hell Gate Social(12-21 Astoria Blvd). Perk up your ears with a blend of jazz, Brazilian, and electronic music. Get there by 9pm and save your money for drinks- no cover!

Need a job? Want to stay local? Love organic goodness? Well here's your big chance. Sai's Organics is opening up a newer all encompassing location and they are looking for some pretty permanent employees. This place rocks, and the new space looks to be even cooler incorporating the Health Food Store with a Wellness Center.Email your resumes to syed@saiorganics.com or fax them to 718.777.8536. I'd say- stop in and do some shopping while you drop it off in person even!

Saturday night, support local musician Richard McGraw and I assure you, you won't be disappointed! Ok, so the show is in Brooklyn (Laila Lounge- 113 N 7th St, Williamsburg 9pm), but geesh- its not that hard to get over there :) It's free too!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

This Weekend brings us Memorial Day. And while it's not in Astoria or LIC, you might consider heading east on Monday to Douglaston-Little Neck for their Memorial Day parade. This event is considered to be the largest Memorial Day parade in the country. And it's their 80th year! It starts at 2pm, rain or shine.

A little closer to home, this Saturday and Sunday the Beer Garden holds their annual Czech and Slovak Festival. This is their 25th year with this event. They'll have plenty of Czech beer, wine, food, and dancing to celebrate the culture, and to bring in the "official" start to summer. Admission is $10. And on the topic of annual openings, Water Taxi Beach officially opens this weekend. They'll have their complete menu available, including beer, tropical drinks, hotdogs and Motz burgers. Sunday the 27th, they'll have TurnTables on The Hudson, $5 after 8pm.

Local boutique Candy Plum is having a Memorial Day sale! 10% off all weekend, Friday-Sunday. And, if you mention Myspace, you'll get a free gift!

Also on Saturday at 3pm, the Broadway branch of the Queens Public Library presents a Memorial Day concert. The Medical Support Teams of the 319th Statue of Liberty Army Band will play jazz, pop, and classical, among other styles. All ages are welcome. Later that night, adults can head to Waltz for their monthly wine talk with Kevin Rose. $25 gets you wine, cheeses, and music.

There are also some great outdoor activities this weekend. Goodwill Triangle in western Astoria invites you to join them for gardening. On Sunday, the LIC Boathouse provides free kayak and canoe rides from 1-5pm at Socrates' Hallets Cove. More information, here.

Tomorrow night (Weds. 23rd) at the new Tell Astorya Cafe(37-05 28th Ave), there will be a get together of craft/art minded people hoping to get a sort of creative outlet going in the neighborhood, a la Craft Mafia.

There is a thread on Astorians.com you can check in on to keep up with the planning of get togethers, but for now- clear your schedule and break out the supplies tomorrow night at around 7pm.

There is no reason that Brooklyn & Manhattan get to have all the cool fun artsy happenings darn it! We've got the creatives here so why not do something about it? With the weather getting better and better, isn't it better to be out meeting peeps and having fun while doing the things you love most? Knit, draw, paint, write- you name it, there's a place for you.The agenda for Weds? Discussions about workshops, places to host meetings and events and more.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Sorry I flaked on these extra events for the weekend- i was consumed by food stuffs!This may be the all time busiest/eventful weekend to date, something for everyone for sure ;) Go be outside and do good things.

Saturday you've got all of these locations to participate in It's My Park! Day. Most are from 10am to 1pm but check the website for additional info.

Sunday there is a Hunters Point Walking Tour! For 2 hours starting at 11am take a stroll around the Vernon Blvd. area of LIC...it's free too. Maps and historical information will be provided.RSVP to info@entephoto.com if you would like to attend and to learn of meeting point, or for more information.

Free Candy? Heck yeah! Friday at Waltz, enjoy the operatic stylings of the City Beat Opera.Fill your ears with great standards and cabaret pieces for the low low cover of $5 and fill your belly with sweet sweet candy (and the other delicous treats they have for sale too.)

Saturday feel the love and join Marriage Equality New York for the Wedding March. They are going over the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan's Foley Square. You may ask yourself so what does Astoria have to do with this? Well quite a few Astorians are involved and some will even be performing (Candy Samples and the Gender Offenders) at the rally afterwards! The festivities start at 11 a.m. in Foley Square: head out there and support our peeps!

Just the other day, Meg filled us in on all the ice creammy goodness in Astoria, but actually since then, another great option popped up. Freeze Peach is now carrying tea based ice creams! For $3.75 you get a a pretty large cup filled with your choice of butterfly sencha, espresso honey, black currant. Flavors vary but those are the inaugural batch. Just another great reason to stop in, can you tell we love the place?

Holy crepes!We'd like to welcome Cafe Triskell to the nabe. You may recognize the place as the old Lil Bistro 33, such a cute space just had to be used again! Chef Philippe Fallait has his crepes going on, I must say :) I ordered the hearty Broceliande(chicken, grilled veggies and goat cheese) and sampled the Benodet(mushrooms, swiss and herb butter). They were both phenomal! The banana and homemade chocolate crepe was also a hit. The prices range from $4 to around $9 and there are also soups, salads and sandwiches. This really is a great little gem we've been gifted, stop in and give them a taste. Merci Chef Philippe!my other pics from the cafe here

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

So there has been talk coming out of the Fatty's(25-01 Ditmars) camp for some time now on a new wine bar opening up next door to them. Well it seems like the day has finally come. Crescent and Vine invites all of us to head over there tomorrow night Weds May 16 for their grand bash. Here's what they had to say:

Hey guys...In case you didnt hear, C & V is now officially open!Its beautiful inside, european beer and wine, right next door to Fattys...please come and check it out and join us for a devine wine or draft beer!We are having the official opening tomorrow night (wed) around 8 or 9ish...sierra beer sponsering so come down and have a wee swallie with us!

Friday, May 11, 2007

Want to be outside tomorrow night, head over to Last Resort Art Space (8-63 Astoria Blvd, 2nd floor) May 12th for a Rooftop BBQ around 6pm (with karazy kinds of musical entertainment starting at 9pm)

If you bring your favorite vittles and or drink then you bypass the $5 cover, if you don't have time to cook or stop at the bodega then come prepared to fork over 5 beans.If this kind of art event floats your boat, sign up for their monthly events calendar here.

Apparently, there's an old mansion on 47th Street just south of the BQE. It was built in 1830, but suffered some damage in the 90s due to vandalism. It sits on landmarked land, so there's less of a chance it'll be razed. If you know anything about the mansion, contact Liz Goff at the Queens Gazette (see article). Looks beautiful in the picture!

This Sunday is Mother's Day!Take the mom in your life to brunch this weekend. Some places are holding special Mother's Day brunches, including Mundo and Koliba, while places like 718, Fatty's and Brick always have nice brunch. Two other options might be the Beer Garden or its neighbor across the street, Sparrow. In any case, you'll find good eating in Astoria.

Apart from Mother's Day, there are plenty of other ways to spend time in Astoria and LIC. On Thursday, MeatSpace Gallery presents Submerged, with a reception with the artists from 6-9pm. The show contains artwork that has the power of water to engulf, embrace, support, and surround us; the gallery is located on the edge of the water.

On Friday, consider attending Waltz's beer tasting event. At 9pm you can try 5 different beers, with snacks, for $12. Should be a nice, mellow time.

After brunch with mom, find your way to the Noguchi Museum. At 3pm on Sunday, there will be a talk about the LIC cultural life: "Contemporary Long Island City sculptors will gather to discuss their experiences creating in this unique artists' community and how artists have served as the catalyst for the (re)development of LIC as a cultural destination."

And, while the weather is good, the Water Taxi Beach will be open! On the subject of fun and sun and summer joys, Martha's Bakery (Ditmars and 37th Street) has their gelato up and running. I'm glad it's back, even though they raised the prices ($3.25 for a single scoop). They have about 8 flavors, from hazelnut to mint chip to strawberry.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

So, it's getting warmer, which means (screams?) ICE CREAM to me. I love the stuff. Ice cream and gelato and sorbet and sherbet and frozen yogurt, I love. it. all. The other day I made some ice cream and it was a great success; I'll make more, too. But sometimes I just like to go out for it. I'm sure you do too.

The other night I was down at Martha's Bakery (37th And Ditmars) scoping out their gelato offerings. Right now they have a lot less of a selection of flavors than they did last year, but the flavors they do have are just great - hazelnut, mint chip, dulce de leche, strawberry, lemon ice, to name a handful. It runs about $3.25 a scoop. Yow. Kind of pricey, but it was worth it when I wanted it.

La Guli Bakery up the street (Ditmars and 29th) also has gelato in classic flavors (I love the La Guli Chocolate, which has caramel in it). I haven't been down there to price it, but it usually runs around a couple dollars for a scoop. I also like their hazelnut gelato, and they have delicious italian ices. Terrizi Pastry Shop (30th Ave near 36th Street) also has gelato, which is supposed to be very good.

JIA friend Zora told flooz and me the other day about the presence of Ciao Bella gelato in the neighborhood, sold by the scoop. This is exciting! You can get it at the New Town Coffee House on 31st Street just north of 30th Ave. It's a mere $1.95 a scoop. She also passed on some news that I had already been given, about ice cream coming to a new sweet shop opening up on Ditmars. But the new bit of info is that the ice cream will be made by a local NYC company (I'll withold the name for now). I've been guaranteed that it's really good!

As far as more mass-produced stuff, there are plenty of Baskin Robbins in town. Cold Stone Creamery is on Broadway. Igloo on 31st Street near the Ditmars train station serves Sedutto ice cream and that weird All-Star Burger is set to have Hershey's Ice Cream available, but who knows if they will stick around, what with the awful McDonalds just a few doors down. Oh, and I can't not mention Uncle Louie G's ice cream, on 38th Street right off of Broadway.

Sunday, May 06, 2007

The other day I was at Fresh Start, the natural foods/organic grocery over on 23rd Ave between 31st and 29th (right between delicious Michael Angelo's and the nice people at Omega Wines), and as I was in the back getting cat food (Wellness - my kitty loves it!), I saw a door open...to a backyard patio! They are finally opening the outdoor/garden space they had talked about soon after opening a year and a half of so. It looks really nice. It's a space where you can take your prepared foods and and drink sit back and eat. They also want to make it available to community groups looking for a space in which to meet. I think it's going to be a really nice addition to the area.

Also, the owner told me that they are going to make the changeover to environmentally serving products soon (the order has already been placed). That means instead of plastic cups and straws, they will be made of corn, similar to what Freeze Peach uses. Also, they are going to provide biodegradable cutlery, and I guess maybe serving containers.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

So in keeping with my nerd-centric post last week, I have found another gem- a fantasy/sci fi book club that so far, is all female! Unbelievable I know, but true. They meet up on Thursday nights and have kept it up for the past 2 years. Locations are always changing with the Beer Garden as a constant fall back spot.* In all fairness, I did find another book club that is co-ed, the choice is yours!

Friday give yourself a treat by strolling down Ditmars to Forno Italia(43-19 Ditmars Blvd.) I don't know why it has taken so long for me to find this place, but hot diggity dog- the pizza ROCKS!!! Brick oven deliciousness :) One little itty bitty request though, more sauce! GO, EAT... please let me know what you think too because in my opinion this is the second (with a good shot of becoming the...) best pizza in Astoria- number one being Michael Angelo's(29-11 23rd Ave.)~that's my quatro staggione pizza right there from Forno.

Break out your bike this Saturday for Green Queens: Estuary Wading & Cycling Adventure. From 10am to 1pm, start at Start at Gantry Plaza State Park (48th Ave. & the East River) and ride the proposed Queens East River Greenway and be one with nature. They will be touring all sorts of places, even Build It Green! Fear not, it won't run you ragged, the whole thing should clock in at around 5 miles in 3 hours.

Right after the ride, drain your water bottle, while learning about our impact on H2O resources at the Water Quality Workshop. The folks of the New York Soil & Water Conservation District and Partnerships for Parks will be doing the schooling.

Sunny Sundays are meant to be spent outside. Here's what to do this week! Socrates Sculpture Park(@ Vernon Blvd. and Broadway) is opening a new show L.I.C., NYC all about local artists, including Andrea Christens, Anne Deleprot, James Johnson, Isamu Noguchi, Rachel Stevens, and Nicole Tschampel. Catch it until August 5, 2007.

We've finally joined the rest of the world as we know it and joined the wondeful world of Myspace! We're still getting our act together over there but fear not, your trusty neighborhood bloggers will work it all out :)